Rupert Murdoch The fight between media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Google may have wide implications on how news is consumed online.

Murdoch, CEO of NewsCorp, said last week he plans to block Google from indexing sites operated by his media outlets, which include the Wall Street Journal (which already is charging for online content) and Fox News. Other newspapers, such as the Denver Post and the Dallas Morning News, might be joining the crusade.

Guest Jeff Jarvis, author of a book on Google and blogger for Buzzmachine (linked previously), said plainly: "Protectionism is no strategy for the future. The world has changed utterly."

For media outlets, has the free-content horse already left the barn? Does online news want to be free? Would you be willing to pay for content online? (Don't worry, we're just posing the question hypothetically.)